1. Related Applications
The present invention relates to our copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/257,257, filed 25 Jul. 1994, for a "Smart Weed Recognition/Classification System".
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic target recognition (ATR) systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an object or vegetation recognition system which employs a polarization sensitive infrared detector sensor.
3. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic target recognition (ATR) systems are known. Systems for recognition and application of chemicals to green vegetation are also known. In both types of system, various means for detection have been employed. The extent of the accuracy and reliability of the detection systems depends on the type and amount of the information that is available which describes a scene or area of the target object and its background environment. While both infrared sensors and polarization-sensitive infrared sensors are known, there are no known automatic recognition systems which fully exploit sets of polarization-sensitive information from a scene to describe and recognize green vegetation by type, size, color, and/or attributes which would enable concurrent or subsequent treatment of the vegetation.
Accordingly there is an unsatisfied need for an object recognition that is highly accurate, extremely reliable and can be operated and programmed at low cost to detect green vegetation as well as other types of objects which emit energy in the infrared range.